What Will Replace the Shows We Love that are Ending?

As every worthwhile show is now on winter break, it got me thinking about the fate of programs that I’ve been watching for the better part of a decade now. There are a ton that are either ending or about to end, with their final seasons currently airing or the next one to come.

Don’t believe me? This is the list I’ve assembled, and these are just shows that I watch religiously. I’m sure there are quite a few more that don’t appear here. How I Met Your Mother, for example, might not be my cup of tea, but I believe it’s ninth season next year will be its last. But here’s my list:

Sons of Anarchy – Final season next year

Breaking Bad – Second half of final season next year

The Office – Final season airing

30 Rock – Final season airing

Spartacus – Final season next year

Dexter – Final season next year

“Welp, time to wrap this up! (no pun intended)”

There are all shows that I’ve been watching anywhere from 4 to 10 years. Yes, long running shows I’ve watched before in the past have ended, from Lost to The Sopranos to 24 to Smallville, but I can’t remember when so many big shows were closing their curtains this close to each other.

So, the question becomes do we have enough fresh blood to replace them? I’m not so sure. A lot of these are THE big defining shows for their channel these days. I would count SOA, Dexter and Spartacus at the very least the most important shows on their respective channels.

First, we should turn to look at shows which will surely make it to this “long-running epic” category we see here. Shows like The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones are just now ramping up, and with massive ratings and borderline infinite source material, it’s easy to see them sticking around for years to come. On cable, we have Mad Men, which seems like it’s going to last forever, and also Justified on FX which has staying power. Homeland is only in season two, but it’s been picked up for a bunch more and looks to replace Dexter as Showtime’s must-see program. For comedies there’s still Parks and Recreation on TV Thursdays, and Modern Family is of course a powerhouse now. I would argue New Girl and Happy Endings seem like they could become true comedy classics a few seasons from now.

Say what you will, but three of these four are some of the best comedic characters on TV right now. Except you, Winston.

The problem is that all of these shows, both the ones that are ending and those I’ve just mentioned that have the potential to “go the distance,” have always been on at the same time, at least for the past few years. But when this entire crop of shows goes off the air, what can we look for to replace it?

In terms of brand new shows that aired this year, there’s almost nothing from the crop that looks like it’s going to be our next classic. Sure, it can be hard to tell from season one, but season one is where many shows have blown us away in the past. Look at Lost for the prime example of how that can work (and look at how many Lost-type shows have failed in the years since). But when the most praised show of the year is the fairly mediocre Arrow on the CW, you might have issues. Top rated “buzzed about” shows like Revolution are unspeakably terrible to anyone with eyes and ears, and ones that could have been promising like Last Resort have already been canceled.

Maybe this was just a rough year for new shows, but it’s gotten me the slightest bit worried about what the future holds. The shows I’ve mentioned as being good in their second, third or fourth season are fantastic, but there needs to be something new and riveting that simply wasn’t there this season.

Not exactly the hero we deserve.

What do we need? Well, with all these shows ending, their casts and crews and creators can move on to other ventures, which hopefully will be equally amazing shows. Network TV seems almost incapable of producing quality new dramas at this point, and cable is constantly battling high costs and a constantly shifting medium as TV battles the internet.

What new show would you be looking for? Is there a book or film or reboot you think would make a good series? What sort of original creation would you like to see? I’m still stuck on my idea of an HBO Mass Effect series, though I’d take any cable or pay channel showing some love to the sci-fi genre in any form. And I don’t mean another Battlestar spin-off from Syfy.

About The Author

Paul

I think I'm a part of the first generation of journalists to skip print media entirely, and I've learned a lot these last few years at Forbes. My work has appeared on TVOvermind, IGN, and most importantly, a segment on The Colbert Report at one point.

Cj Saint

Sons of Anarchy has two seasons left bro.

Magnetoshat

Some Terry Pratchett series that was written well could surpass the horrible films, and become a mainstay with the massive cannon it has.

Still loving American Horror Story.. Probably my favorite show on TV right now.

Excited about Bates Motel or whatever it is coming on A&E.. There aren’t a lot of trailers, but what I’ve seen looks very well done.

Postal

I’m wondering how GoT is going to manage in a few seasons. I believe we are up to book 5 or 6… I lost count after the first few thousand pages. Yet it takes RR Martin years to write these books. In fact, he works on other books while ignoring his claim to fame series. Combined with the fact that he is now busier than ever doing publicity and consulting for the show… how is he going to finish off the series in time?

Michael

Good shows can’t go on forever. Sopranos had to end, The Wire had to end, The Shield had to end, and so on. I was worried when those were ending, but they paved the way for these next set of shows that are winding down.

These shows all have fantastic producers, directors and writers who will spin off and pitch their own shows. I don’t think there is anything to worry about, if anything, I’m excited to see what’s on the horizon.

nico

If anything these shows need to end faster. I’ve always like how British shows (except Dr. Who) know when to cut the shows. I’d rather have 2 full seasons of awesome as opposed to almost 3 entire seasons of Dexter with crap episodes. American shows tend to drag on and die. Season 2 of the Walking Dead was a chore to finish and dragged on the farm for way too long. I’d rather have mid season finales and better writing/funding then 20 seasons with 10 of them being terrible.

nick

Boardwalk Empire. The last two seasons have been pretty incredible, and the season next year will definitely show a lot more of al capone, charlie luciano, and meyer lanksy, which is definitely a good thing. The producers definitely realized how popular richard harrow was so i can see him getting a bunch more screen time and interesting plot developments. Plus, we’ve always got game of thrones to look forward to, and if they keep splitting the books up into two seasons like they are next year we’ll probably be able to get 8 or 9 seasons out of it!

Mark

The problem will be that GoT will catch up with the books.
Then there are 4 possibilities:
1. rest the series till he has a new book (unlikely tbh)
2. work together with him and so create the story before the books are done (unlikely tbh)
3. creating their own story lines/ends (i hope that won’t happen)
4. cancel the show for good

New shows… well Sherlock isn’t new but i guess if the actors aren’t too busy we should get 2-3 more season (6-9 episodes yay)
Happy Endings which you already mentioned will be a around for a while and hopefully remain good. Cougar Town has potential, though i haven’t seen the last season yet.
And then there’s one thing i’m still hoping:
Someone give Joss Whedon the money to produce 1-2 more seasons of Dollhouse. It all felt so rushed :/
Then there’s still Firefly which also could come back, although i doubt that.

Are you crazy? Rest GoT until there is an ending? There are 3 books left before we even have to worry about that, PLUS they are making the 3rd book into 2 seasons.. This could probably be done with others, if needed. So we have at least 5 years before he has to have another book done, which he says he’s already working on.

If they NEED him to get a book done, I’m sure it will happen. Throwing money and resources at something tends to do that. Give me my GoT!

Mark

he has 5 years to write one more book. ok that might work but after 1-3 season the plot of the book will be used up. and then they have a problem